Kumamoto Castle

Kumamoto Castle

As promised, this entry is about my trip to Kumamoto Castle. As most of my close friends know… there are two things that have continued to hold my interest over the years. Castles and swords (especially Samurai!) and this trip to Japan was arguably the coolest thing I’ve done to date. It came with mixed feelings which I will explain later, but for now all I can say is WOW! The castle compound was just HUGE. You just wouldn’t believe how huge it was. Most of the pictures I took were just of one of the corners turrets. It was simply amazing.

I took many of the pictures in black and white to really show the beauty of the construct. I was happier than a kid in a candy store. Seriously. I had to suppress crazy-giddy laughter the entire time. Rather silly, I know, but it was just a long dream come true. Even now through the routine of daily life (work, eat, and sleep) I have these moments where everything just stops and I say “Oh man… I’m in ASIA!” and just stare off for a bit. Anyway, back to the castle.

It was constructed in 1607 by Kato Kiyomasa (1562 - 1611), who was also known as one of the "Seven Spears of Shizugatake.” The castle was handed over to the Hosokawa Clan about a half century after its completion. The Hosokawa Clan ruled the surrounding fief for over 200 years. It is an impressively built fortress and much care was taken in its design. In addition to the numerous murder holes the walls themselves were constructed in a sloping style (known as musha-gaeshi) to prevent any enemies from climbing them. Sadly, no concept is perfect and much of the castle was destroyed during the last of Japan’s civil war in 1877. It is now a huge tourist attraction and most of the castle shows signs of the repeated abuse of many feet. The center of the castle was still undergoing reconstruction while I was there and I could only go up to the 3rd level. This was, in part, the reason for my mixed feeling about this visit. The other part was how much of the castle had been altered for the tourist trade. It was a little depressing for me. Regardless of these minor details, the castle is re-opening in the spring of this year and I plan on going back to see it in its entirety. It was a very enriching experience and I would recommend it to anyone without hesitation.

Walking the grounds of the castle was an amazing feeling for me. My mind just couldn't help but imagine being there all those years ago. Seeing the people and peddlers making their way around. Hearing the sounds of daily life. My mind was flooded with fanciful visions of what it must have been like based on my limited knowledge of the Tokagawa (or Edo) period of Japan and many hours of watching different animes like "Samurai Shamploo" (and yes my sister... I hear you giggling) and similar shows.

Actually being there and seeing all of this for myself really helped to broaden my mind even more. It is difficult to explain in words, but it really opens your eyes somehow. Maybe it stems from just getting a real sense of time and place in the world. It could be from a profound realization of just how limited we actually are as humans. Better yet, it might have just been the sushi settling in from my lunch. Hehehehehehhehe. It was hard to tell really. :) Ok, well that about wraps it up for this entry. Once again, I hope that all of my friends and family are happy, healthy and working on their own life adventures. I'll try to get another blog posted soon. My love to you all.

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